Land of the Mayans

As our plane lifted off from Mexico City and soared southeastward, my sense of excitement increased. Our destination was Villahermosa, which would open to us the Mayan region, a land of high civilizations that flourished for more than 1,400 years, starting about 600-300 B.C. Their mighty kingdoms mysteriously evanesced about A.D. 800 without leaving behind definitive tracks; probably conquered and assimilated by enemy warfare.

Traveling with Shelby Saberon and his Liahona Guided Tours, we would see archaeological wonders on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and in Guatemala and Honduras, a territory where antiquity comes to life in several great restorations, and where every mound of earth might conceal riches and wonders untouched for thousands of years.

In this area, one of the world's most enchanting and least trampled tourist destinations, temples, pyramids and palaces soar high in the air, and apartments, tombs, stelae and plazas reveal the Mayan way of life, their customs, worship and warfare.

A sense of destiny hangs thick in the air, reaching out to you from the encroaching jungle, sweeping you along on its mighty waterways, beguiling you with the lush beauty of its hills and vales. If you come with a receptive heart, you will find it leaping in response to the things you see.

It was dusk when we landed at Villahermosa, and we had a two- hour ride ahead, over bumpy two-lane roads shared with commercial vans. But our arrival at the comfortable Mission Park Hotel in Palenque and a good buffet dinner revived our sense of anticipation.

Palenque

Magic was in the mists that hung over Palenque when we rounded a turn in the pathway and came upon a breathtaking view of the Temple of the Inscriptions. Though smaller than Tikal, Palenque is the favorite of many tourists and archaeologists, and during the 19th century was the first site for intensive investigation.

Deep inside this temple lies the lavish tomb of Pacal (Shield), the greatest of the Palenque kings, who ascended the throne at the age of 12 and reigned for 68 years (A.D. 615-683). Palenque kings were commemorated with brightly painted wall panels and stucco reliefs, rather than the stone monuments (stelae and altars) favored in other sites.

There is also a massive panel of hieroglyphics inside the five doors of the temple, enumerating the genealogy of the kings. It's the largest in Mayan lands except for the staircase at Copan, which we visited later. Decipherment of hieroglyphic inscriptions at Palenque made possible understanding of their lifestyle and clothing, elaborate costumes, battle gear, rituals, human sacrifice, succession of rulers and much more, Saberon said.

Here, you are introduced to the colorful designations of Mayan kings, named for natural creatures or phenomena. Thus Pacal was Shield, and his son, Kan Balam was Snake Jaguar, to be followed by such titles as Turtle Macaw of the Lake.

At Palenque, there is no end of fascinating trails to follow through sites large and small, up and down, apartments and pyramids, some standing and some crumbling, all bearing the evocative patina of antiquity. The great palace with its four-story tower sits on a platform 33 feet high, 381 feet long and 263 feet wide. The probable home of all Palenque's kings from A.D. 400 to 800, it abounds with signs of wealth. Stone and stucco reliefs decorate the exterior and interior and galleries and rooms are arranged around courts and patios with beautiful wall panels and stucco masks.

I can only think that some ancient king of Palenque reached down and infected me with a little of his daring. Before leaving home I had vowed that nothing would induce me to climb any pyramids with their steep, narrow steps. But in Palenque, as I stood before the little Temple of the Foliated Cross, my pulse quickened. Who could go home without climbing a pyramid? And this one didn't look especially intimidating. I grabbed the arm of a fellow traveler and up I went. The view was great from the top, and it only took two strong men to get me down.

Yaxchilan

Saberon calls the River Usumacinta the Nile of the Mayans, and like the Nile it flows north, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Also like the Nile, it has for centuries nourished numerous populations and busy commerce. Indeed, waterways were often the main and sometimes the only connection between cities in Mayan times.

At the border town of Frontera Corizal, we boarded a flotilla of five modern motorboats, shaded in the age-old way by arching thatched canopies. The trip downriver to Yaxchilan was delightful, past children and adults wading in the water or hiking its banks, while women washed their clothes in the age-old way on the rocks. Our boatman called our attention to more than one crocodile lazily sunning on the shore.

Gliding along through beautiful jungle scenery, you could imagine the long-gone rich trade in food such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes and avocados. Perhaps boats would carry fine woven textiles and even more exotic wares for the wealthy, such as jade and obsidian (the "gold" and "steel" of the Maya). These trade routes were the Mayans' life blood, and sometimes demanded their life blood to defend.